A union representing nurses at Providence Alaska filed three unfair labor practice charges against the hospital with the National Labor Relations Board. The charges were filed Dec. 13 in response to what the union calls “illegal union-busting tactics.”
According to the complaint, the union alleges that staff at Providence surveilled union members during legal union activities. Managers allegedly stood in the lobby to keep track of who was attending a union-sanctioned press conference, and some were asked to report if union members left their unit to attend.
Terra Colegrove, president of the union of Providence Alaska nurses, said it had a chilling effect and some union members chose not to attend the press conference.
“It felt very intimidating,” Colegrove said. “They didn't want to go outside.”
The hospital and the nurses union are in the midst of tense negotiations surrounding the introduction of new telenurse positions. The union objects to increases in how many patients bedside nurses will have under their care, and Providence Alaska said the new telenurses will reduce the workload of bedside nurses enough that the changes are safe.
Colegrove said two of the unfair labor practice complaints stem from Providence Alaska’s behaviors surrounding union bargaining sessions. The hospital polled nurses in 4 North, a medical-surgical hospital unit, electronically.
“They told us, in one of those bargaining sessions, that they had done a survey of 4 North nurses, and the 4 North nurses had agreed to the increase in ratio,” Colegrove said. “Well, that's ‘direct dealing,’ and Providence shouldn't be doing that.”
The complaint documents also allege managers counseled a union member after saying “exactly!” in support of another union member during a bargaining meeting. Allegedly, a manager said the comment was "uncivil, unkind, and overall negative." Colegrove said that kind of response also has a chilling effect, making nurses less comfortable speaking up in union discussions.
In an emailed statement, a Providence Alaska representative wrote that the hospital looks forward to participating in the investigative process. And because it’s a pending legal matter, they’re “unable to comment on the specifics of the allegations.”
The National Labor Board has begun investigating the unfair labor practice charges. Colegrove said this is the first time in at least 10 years that the union has organized major pushback to changes implemented by Providence Alaska.
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